How financial planning meets your emotional needs
Monday 24th February, 2025.
Peter McGahan
A YOUNG graduate on work experience asked about life as a financial planner. Is it complicated numbers and complicated statistics and analysis? Not really. It’s about how we use our skills and knowledge to solve your financial plan in the best, most comforting bedside manner we can. Yes, it can be daunting, intimidating gobbledegook, and complicated, but a good independent financial planner takes all the detail out and delivers something else – peace of mind.
Working with a psychologist we agreed it’s about meeting people’s emotional needs – the Human Givens - I have talked about before. Let’s examine.
It’s about security. It’s about control. It’s about making sure you can live life on your own terms, rather than having circumstances dictate them for you.
At its core, we all want to feel safe. That’s the first and most fundamental need – ‘security’. A financial plan is the difference between lying awake at night worrying about how you’d cope if you lost your job, and knowing that even if the worst happened, you’d still be able to keep the lights on and the fridge full. Income protection, critical illness cover, life insurance aren’t just policies; they’re the safety nets which stop your world from falling apart if life throws one of its infamous curveballs.
Then there’s ‘autonomy’. Nobody likes feeling trapped, whether it’s by debt, a bad job, or a pension pot which is emptier than Trump’s tanning bottle. Good financial planning gives you choices. It means you retire when you want to, not when your boss or health decides you’re no longer useful. It means you can take a year out, change careers, or say “no” without the fear of financial ruin hanging over your head. Autonomy isn’t about money; it’s about the freedom that money, when managed properly, can give you.
‘Attention’ is a funny one, because most people don’t connect it to financial planning at all. Think about this - how much time do you spend stressing over money? Worrying about bills? Avoiding bank statements like they’re some kind of horror movie? That’s mental energy wasted. When you take control of your finances, you free up attention for the things which actually matter. Your family. Your health. Your passions. Your Merlin bird app (try it, it’s class). You stop reacting to financial emergencies and start proactively building the life you want.
‘Relationships’? If you’ve ever seen a couple argue about money, you’ll know how much finances affect relationships. Money problems are one of the biggest causes of stress in marriages. Planning properly, knowing you’ve got savings, a plan for the future, and security in place, removes one of the biggest sources of tension. It allows relationships to be about love, not financial panic.
A ‘sense of status’ is about knowing you’re providing for your family, that you’re in control of your life, you’re not at the mercy of debt or financial insecurity. There’s dignity in being able to say, “I’ve got this covered.”
‘Feeling part of a wider community’ is another basic human need. We want to belong, to contribute. That’s why we give to charity, help out family members, or support local businesses. But you can’t give to others if you’re struggling to keep your own head above water.
‘Privacy’ is something we don’t often think about in relation to money, but a solid financial plan gives you the calm space to reflect, to make decisions without panic, to consolidate your experience without the noise of financial worry constantly buzzing in the background.
‘Competence and achievement’ are hardwired into us. We want to feel capable. We want to feel like we’re making progress. Nothing gives you that feeling quite like taking control of your money. Watching debt shrink. Seeing savings grow. Knowing your investments are working for you.
And finally, ‘meaning and purpose’. What’s it all for? What’s the point of working, saving, investing? It’s about what that money allows you to do. Retire early and travel? Help your kids buy their first home? Money itself is meaningless, it’s what you can do with it that matters.
Financial planning is about meeting the emotional needs that make us feel alive. Security. Freedom. Connection. Control. Simples.
If you have a financial question, please call 01872 222422 or email info@wwfp.net
Peter McGahan is the Chief Executive Officer of Independent Financial Adviser Worldwide Financial Planning. Worldwide Financial Planning is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
